Flight of the brave lion
by Lady Madbeth
Summary: When Ezio causes Leonardo trouble, he has to find a way to apologize. One-shot. No pairing, though Lezio fans could interpret something deeper if they like.


_AN: This is just a one-shot plotbunny that crossed my path while writing "What is unseen". This is a kind of Christmas present to the community =).  
Pairing: THERE WAS NO PAIRING INTENDED BY ME! Though all those Lezio_ _**(I take the credit for this word!)** fans out there could interpret something deeper. I don't mind the pairing, it's just that I prefer writing canon._

Obviously, I do not own anything.

Please enjoy!

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**Flight of the brave lion**

Some days were not meant for work.

For Leonardo da Vinci, today was one of them.

"Merda!" The artist slammed his quill angrily onto the table, spilling the ink over his notes and sketches. The candle on his table flickered wildly and he buried his face in his palms. It had been a horrible day.

In the morning he had tried to dissect another corpse, one of the guards of Venezia, though that didn't particularly interest him. It was one of the corpses the thieves, instead of the city guard, had delivered and Leonardo quickly found out why. There was a hole in the chest, blackened around the edges and Leonardo had curiously analyzed the wound, only to have found it as something he should have recognized.

A bullet had been buried into the man's chest and there was a small 'A' inscribed into it.

Leonardo was quite familiar with the weapon that caused the guard's death.

He had built it after all.

At least Leonardo didn't have to worry about a shortage of corpses, as long as Ezio Auditore da Firenze resided in Venezia.

But what had frustrated him about the corpse, was that the left lung had been damaged (no thanks to his Assassin friend) and he had to abandon his anatomy sketches to wait for the next corpse. Even though it most likely wouldn't take long before one would be brought to him.

So he had decided to wait, knowing well that Rosa and Ugo would most likely bring him another of Ezio's victims via the canals, sometime in the afternoon.

Instead of sitting around, Leonardo had wanted to busy himself with painting, only to find the colors he needed empty. Slightly annoyed, he had sent his student out to fetch the materials he needed, but the stupid boy had gotten distracted near the shop and had returned to the workshop empty-handed and in shock. When Leonardo had wished to know what had shocked the boy so badly, he had to keep himself from cursing in front of him.

The shop selling the color mixtures was located near a heavily guarded bank and it seemed that _someone_ had been in need for money. His student fearfully described the thief – a strong physique, a hood that hid his face and heavily armed. The thief had killed two guards with one move (Leonardo wondered if he should feel guilty) and killed the other two a few moments later with a dagger. Leonardo's student had chosen that moment to flee and he could understand why.

Ezio must have been in one of his rambunctious moods.

So Leonardo couldn't analyze the human lung nor could he paint, though since Ezio had killed four guards, he hoped that the thieves, mercenaries or even the city guard would bring them to him and that Ezio had not damaged their lungs for a change.

He had spent a few hours sketching various things out of boredom, then another few building and improving his flying machine.

That led to his next reason to be frustrated.

His first version of the flying machine was lost to him, the only thing proving that it had once existed were his notes and the death of Carlo Grimaldi. But when he was particularly creative, he sometimes forgot to write things down and some stupido assassino had let his genius invention sink into the depths of the ocean. So he had tried to rebuilt it, but he faced a few problems when turning his attention to the skeleton. He wanted to improve it, maybe to carry more weight, but he couldn't remember the calculations he had made in his mind while building the first version.

Not to mention that his bad luck was getting to him.

Thankfully, Rosa and Ugo had decided to drop by with a corpse the thieves had managed to snatch before the guards had cleaned up after Ezio's slaughter.

Leonardo's hopes were crushed however. Both corpses had been stabbed into the chest. One stab to the heart, the other to the lung. He knew that Ezio always went for the spots that killed instantly, so the injury to the heart had been the first...

Dio mio, why couldn't he just stab the poor men once in the heart and be done with it?

The genius had returned to his previous thoughts after distractedly saying his goodbyes to the two thieves and he had been struck by inspiration.

His flying machine was left to the deep sea and couldn't be salvaged, but it would be exciting to swim underwater longer than humanly possible!

Leonardo had then started on the sketches and notes he had now splattered with ink. The idea was incredible, but he couldn't solve the problem of the weight. Diving underwater was easy, it was just getting back up with all the equipment needed to do so.

Today was nothing but a horrible day and when Leonardo thought about it, he actually knew what the root of his troubles was.

Ezio Auditore da Firenze.

The lung of the corpse was damaged and it was his doing.

There were no painting materials and it was his doing.

The first flying machine was lost and it was his doing.

The next two corpses were useless and it was his doing.

Today was full of distractions and it was his stupido doing!

It couldn't get any worse, but Leonardo was proven wrong when he heard a familiar knock. He looked up, though he already knew who it was.

"Buena sera, Leonardo." Ezio stepped up next to Leonardo's desk, oblivious to his dark mood.

"Dark red, Ezio?" Leonardo gestured towards the assassin's clothing. "Isn't being extravagant quite dangerous for your profession?"

Ezio seemed taken aback by his behavior. "Is something the matter, Leonardo?"

The artist massaged his temples. "Non è niente. Just an incredibly horrible day." No thanks to you.

Ezio laughed. "Really? What could happen to you here in your workshop?"

"Normally, nothing. But being befriended to a stupido assassino isn't normal, either," Leonardo bit out.

"Eh? What have I done?" Ezio actually had the nerve to sound indignant.

Leonardo rose from his seat. "I couldn't analyze any corpses today, because one has been shot by you and the other two stabbed – unnecessarily twice, if I may add. My student won't set a foot outside for the next few days because he's afraid you might swoop down on him to kill him, so I have to get all my painting materials myself in the coming days. And you carelessly threw my flying machine into the ocean, without even feeling the slightest bit of remorse. If all this happens while I'm in my workshop, I don't want to know what happens to me the moment I set a foot outside!"

"What... what did I do to your student? I never even met him!"

"He saw you kill four guards in front of a bank today! Four guards for a few hundred florins! Couldn't you just distract them with your female friends?"

"That was what I was planning, but some minstrel pushed me right into their leader!"

"You are impossible... how you managed to survive this long eludes even me," Leonardo sighed. "Why are you here? You rarely turn up just to chat."

Leonardo noted with satisfaction that Ezio actually seemed ashamed. Though it didn't make up for the trouble he had caused today. Ezio pulled something out of his pouch.

With a sight, Leonardo accepted it. "A codex page. Why am I not surprised?"

"Well... you don't... you don't have to translate it today," Ezio hesitantly said. "I'll just pick it up tomorrow. Ciao!" Quickly, he pulled his hood back over his head and fled the shop.

Leonardo sat back down behind his desk, sighing. "I should head to bed. There's no use prolonging this day."

~*~~*~

Ezio's next visit was a short one, reduced only to the usual greetings, but Ezio had been kind enough to bring him assorted materials he needed to paint. The short meeting did not bother Leonardo and the gift was barely acknowledged. He was still angry at the assassin.

The following days quieted down a bit. The corpses brought to him were all in good shape, except for the fact that their necks were broken. Rosa was quite puzzled about their state, she was used to Ezio's brutal slaughter - until Leonardo told her that he had scolded Ezio. She was quite amused by his behavior. "Had I known that I have to tell him off to do what I want, I would have done it much sooner."

Leonardo couldn't agree less.

~*~~*~

A week after the incident, Ezio visited Leonardo again. The artist had forgiven him somewhat (the materials Ezio had brought had been of great quality and he had managed to finish his analysis of the human lung) and Ezio had the courtesy to actually ask him if he needed specific corpses in the next few days, as he had received a list from Il Magnifico. Curious, Leonardo asked him to poison his next targets.

Rosa delivered a poisoned corpse every second day for the following week, laughing all the way and suggesting that Leonardo should ask for drowned corpses next.

The next two days following Rosa's suggestion and another visit from Ezio were quite amusing for the female thief, to say the least.

"The idiota even dragged them out of the stinking canal and hid them, so that nobody but Ugo and me could find them. He must smell like a dead fish right now!"

According to her, Leonardo should suggest throwing the next victims off a roof. Even though he told her off for being so cruel, he couldn't deny his interest in what damage a body took after a fall and perhaps how to heal it.

~*~~*~

When Ezio entered Leonardo's workshop (thankfully not smelling like a dead fish), he noticed the almost finished and improved flying machine sitting in a far corner. "After you discovered that it really did fly... did you ever want to test it yourself?"

"Of course I am curious about the feeling of flight, but I doubt I have the talent and self-control to keep it steady," Leonardo replied with a sad smile.

He forgot to tell Ezio to send corpses that had fallen off a building, much to Rosa's disappointment.

~*~~*~

The next few weeks were quiet, even the flow of murder victims thinned and Leonardo guessed that Ezio was most likely busy with some sort of espionage mission. His student had calmed down somewhat and now dared to set his foot outside again. Despite the fact that Leonardo's mind was bursting with ideas for inventions, he sometimes sat down to paint the commission for the Milanese Confraternity of the Immaculate Conception.

One day, Rosa came to visit him and literally dragged him out of his workshop, for no apparent reason. While Leonardo tried to figure out what was going on, the thief shoved him onto a gondola and started rowing herself. She questioned him about his current projects, even asking if his second flying machine was finished and then brought him to the thieves' guild, which was, much to his surprise, almost empty. Antonio came out to greet them both and then invited Leonardo into his office for a chat, offering him a drink he called caffè. They talked for quite a long time, first about the strange brew and then about other things.

When night began to fall, Antonio asked Rosa (though not before she cursed him to hell and back for bossing her around) to bring Leonardo back. They said their goodbyes and the ride on the gondola was quiet. After letting Leonardo out of the gondola, Rosa rowed her way back, telling him to 'better enjoy his evening as much as possible', which struck him odd.

Shrugging, Leonardo entered his workshop and lighted a candle, only to freeze in shock.

His second flying machine was missing.

"AMBROGIO!" Leonardo shouted for his student.

There was no answer.

Fearfully, Leonardo wished that Ezio would choose this moment to drop in and help him. Leonardo wasn't much of a fighter and he feared that whoever had stolen his flying machine was still in the building. He headed to the second floor, still yelling for his student, "Ambrogio! Where are you?"

"Ma-master?"

Leonardo whirled around and saw his student fearfully peeking out from behind his door. A relieved sigh left Leonardo's lips. "Dio mio, I thought something had happened to you. Do you know what happened to the flying machine?"

The boy came out of his room, though not before checking if the coast was clear. "I was sketching as you told me to before you left. I heard someone in the work room and I thought it was you, but it was il diavolo!"

"What do you mean?" Leonardo couldn't quite believe what he was hearing.

"Remember when I told you of the diavolo who killed four men guarding a bank? He was here!" Ambrogio looked around in fear, as if expecting il diavolo to jump around the corner.

"I knew I should have told you about him," Leonardo grumbled. "But that still doesn't explain why my flying machine is gone! Has he taken it?"

The boy nodded jerkily. "Sì, he... he told me he wouldn't dare cause me harm, so I should stop shaking and then he grabbed it."

"Did he say what he was planning to do with it?" Slowly, Leonardo felt his anger from a few weeks ago rise up again.

"I think he mumbled something about dragging the heavy thing up a tower and cursed its weight," Ambrogio slowly began to calm down. "You said you should have told me about him, master... Do you know him?"

Leonardo sighed. "It's a long story, Ambrogio. Please, get some rest. I'll retrieve the machine."

Ambrogio nodded and Leonardo quickly left the workshop, looking for the next guard tower. Surely enough, he could see the faint outline of his machine and a man. Cursing Ezio's existence, Leonardo ran to the next ladder leading up to the rooftops and to his surprise, he found Antonio waiting for him next to a ladder that would help him up the tower. "Antonio?"

"I'm sorry for the inconveniences, amico mio. Let's climb up. We'll explain there," Antonio suggested and clambered up the ladder.

Confused, Leonardo followed and Ezio grinned at him when he reached the top. "Buena sera, Leonardo."

"What is going on here?" Leonardo demanded.

The assassin looked a bit sheepish. "I thought you would like to experience the freedom of flight."

Completely shocked, Leonardo whirled around to Antonio. "That's why Rosa dragged me out of my workshop! You planned this all along and distracted me, so that Ezio could bring the machine up here," he looked at Ezio, "You scared my student to death again."

Ezio laughed. "Please give him my best regards and tell him I'm very sorry if I caused him any bad dreams. But before you do that, you have a flight to attend."

Leonardo gave him an incredulous look. "I do not! I told you, I cannot keep it steady and I am no pazzo assassino who has no qualms jumping off rooftops!"

The grin Ezio gave him didn't bode him well and before he could do anything, his friend kicked the ladder – the only way down for an artist – away.

Leonardo watched stupidly as the ladder fell down the roof and onto the street below them. "MERDA! BASTARDO! I can't climb like you!"

Ezio smugly motioned to the flying machine. "There's only one way down for you, amico mio. Though if you really insist and pronounce it safe, I will fly with you."

"You ask me if it's safe to fly together after you threw down the ladder? Idiota! What if it isn't?"

"Antonio and I would have climbed down and then caught you."

"That's even insaner than flying!"

"So is it safe?"

Leonardo started rambling. "According to my calculations, yes, it shouldn't be a problem, since we're both not very heavy people, though I cannot be sure, since you're wearing armor, which adds to the weight and the weight influences the flight length... and how exactly do you plan to keep us in the air before we crash?"

With a chuckle, Ezio pointed into the distance and only now Leonardo noticed the flames spread all across Venezia.

Antonio joined their conversation. "My men are guarding the flames, no-one will put them out as long as they are there."

"But what of the guards?" Leonardo asked worriedly.

"Busy," Ezio replied with a cheeky grin. "And the courtesans will earn quite some money tonight."

"You can't distract all the guards with the courtesans!"

"That's why the mercenaries are patrolling as well."

Antonio patted Leonardo on the shoulder. "There is nothing to worry about. We have prepared this well."

Leonardo sputtered, "All this work just for me?"

"We have a lot to thank you for, amico mio," Antonio replied, "By helping Ezio, you have helped the thieves, mercenaries and courtesans of Venezia. If Ezio says this will make you happy, then by all means, we will strive to help you fly."

"Grazie mille, amici." Leonardo hugged both of them. "So how is it done?"

His question was a cause for amusement for Ezio. "You built it, but don't know how it works?" Before Leonardo could reply, the assassin continued, "You will hold the rail more in the middle and I will stand behind you and hold it more on the outside. Antonio will tie our torsos together, so that you don't tip us. You will have to strain your legs, since you need them to start and land."

Slowly, Leonardo felt fear rise within him. One wrong movement from him would send them both spiraling to the ground, but he still nodded his consent.

"Bene. Grab a hold." Ezio showed him how to grab the rail and when he was satisfied, he grabbed the rail from behind Leonardo.

Antonio tied them together and Leonardo took a deep breath. It was now or never.

"Sei pronto?" Ezio asked.

Not able to speak, Leonardo nodded.

"Bene."

That was the last thing Leonardo heard, before Ezio ran forward, forcing him to follow his movements. The ground disappeared from beneath his feet and Leonardo panicked. "DIO MI SALVI! AIUTAMI!"

The wind was cold and whistled loudly as they spiraled downwards and the ground came nearer.

"AIUTAMI!"

Above the whistling wind, Leonardo heard Ezio bellowing in his ear. "Merda, Leonardo! Strain your legs and stop kicking about, before I have to tell your student to find a new master!"

Only now did the artist realize that he had been kicking helplessly and his knuckles had gone white from clenching the rail so hard. Trying to think clearly, he tried to strain his legs and keep his body straight, like Ezio did behind him. He felt his back and legs touch his friend and calmed down a bit, suddenly noticing that he had clenched his eyes shut.

There was a rush of hot air and Leonardo felt the machine give a lurch. Slowly he dared to open his eyes and nearly lost his concentration again.

Venezia lay below him in all its glory. The water in the canals glittered in the moonlight and the buildings seemed like the little models he had seen in Antonio's study. He could vaguely see the huge shadow of the machine, looking like a large bat gliding over the city. Behind him, Ezio shifted and Leonardo tried to memorize what movements led to which result in their course. It was astounding how the slightest movement was transferred to the machine and he felt great respect for the assassin, who had managed to fly it all the way to the Palazzo Ducale and that after having it flown just once for a few seconds.

"So, amico mio," Ezio yelled above the wind, "Is this a good enough apology for the trouble I've caused you?"

Leonardo laughed. "More than good enough."

Even though lions were not meant to fly like eagles, this brave lion had seized the opportunity and enjoyed every moment of it.

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_Translations (all translations were done via the internet, I'm sorry for any mistakes!):_

merda - a curse word  
buena sera - good evening  
non è niente - nothing  
il magnifico - referring to Lorenzo de' Medici  
idiota - idiot  
dio mio - my God  
il diavolo - the devil  
sì - yes  
amico mio - my friend  
pazzo assassino - mad assassin  
bastardo - bastard  
grazie mille, amici - thank you very much, (my) friends  
bene - good  
sei pronto? - are you ready?  
dio mi salvi - God help/save me  
aiutami - save me

_Additional info:  
_  
inscribed bullet - based on the preview video of AC2, though you have to look pretty close  
the corpses - the rooftop guards always react badly to Ezio's presence, I guess he dispatches them the same way we make him dispatch them. There are assassination targets amongst the corpses as well though.  
the commission for the Milanese Confraternity of the Immaculate Conception - reference to _the Virgin of the rocks_, first version  
Ambrogio - Ambrogio de Predis was one of Leonardo's students during this time, though in real history, Leonardo was in Milan during this time  
Antonio by the tower - I'm guessing that Antonio is just as fast as Ezio when it comes to traveling across rooftops, so it shouldn't have been a problem for him to reach the tower on time.

Whoever figures out why I referred to Leonardo as 'brave lion' get's my worthless admiration. =)

Please review!


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